Ben Folds Turns Orchestras Into Rock Bands

While it might not appear to be the case, musician Ben Folds concedes he wasn’t entirely comfortable playing the piano in front of an orchestra at first. That’s because growing up in North Carolina, playing percussion in orchestras, he never dreamed he’d be the headliner.

But several successful albums later, including this year’s “Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella,” his latest tour includes a series of performances with some of the nation’s leading orchestras.

Folds spoke with Jeffrey Brown at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., at the start of the tour: